Particulate metmyoglobin reducing activity and its relationship with meat color.

There is controversy about the effect of storage time on metmyoglobin (MetMb) reducing activity in the sarcoplasmic fraction of meat and the role of this reducing activity in maintaining the color of red meat. The presence of metmyoglobin reducing activity in the myofibrillar fraction of muscle extracts was investigated as a possible reason for this controversy. NADH-dependent MetMb reducing activity was found in the particulate fraction of meat following sedimentation of a meat homogenate at 35 000g. There was 5.8 times more MetMb reducing activity in the particulate fraction compared with that of the sarcoplasmic (supernatant) fraction. The presence of metmyoglobin reducing activity in the myofibrils (MMRA), defined as the activity in the sediment after centrifugation of a meat homogenate at 2 000g, was confirmed. The myofibrillar fraction contained 63% of the total MetMb reducing activity available in the meat. The relationship between muscle MetMb reducing activities and meat color parameters was investigated in a beef patties system. The particulate MetMb reducing activity (PMRA) in beef patties was found to be a good indicator of the total metmyoglobin reducing activity in meat and was positively correlated with the color parameters of the patties, suggesting that PMRA may be associated with red meat color of meat patties.